Digimon Homebound
by ChakkaVoodoo
Summary: One searches for adventure, one for motivation. One searches for a dream, the other for their heart. A new journey in a Digital World unlike any other begins, as 4 children taken from their world must find their missing friend and return home safetly. Fortunately for them, they have powerful allies. Unfortunately for them, so does their enemy. Fan Digimon-centric.


_**A rolling expanse of green covered plains stood out before him, a clear blue sky high above him. Looking upwards, he watched as small flashes of data scrolled across the circuitboard-like image that felt superimposed over the sky, the sun shining in the distance.**_

 _ **The bright sunlight reflected off the surface of the glittering crystals that sprouted from the ground all around him, a myriad of colors meeting his eyes and entrancing him as he smiled. Surrounding the crystals were various rock formations of varying sizes, the grass and moss slowly growing and overtaking them. Letting out a laugh, he fell back onto the soft pillowy grass and stared up at the sky.**_

 _ **He couldn't help but smile, feeling at ease as a gentle wind blew through, sending stray blades of grass into the air above him.**_

 _ **Beside him, he felt a figure move and sit up, blocking off some of the sunlight while a bit seemed to reflect through the giant crystal dome atop their head. Reaching out a hand towards the figure, his grin widened.**_

 _ **As he extended a hand, the figure reached out with a claw.**_

 _ **He knew this claw...this figure...**_

 _ **They were his friend...**_

 _ **His partner...**_

 _ **They were-**_

 **Episode 1: Spirited Away**

As the final bell of the school day rang, students from all grades joyfully spilled out of their classrooms and Greenville Public Elementary itself. The everyday chatter of young pre-adolescent children and teachers alike filled the air as many said their goodbyes, others discussing plans for the long weekend coming up.

It was the final weekend before the school year's end and the start of summer break for some. For the graduating 8th graders however, it was a symbol of something more. As such, early plans between friends were made and talked about as many left for their respective rides home. Save for a few clubs holding final meetings and straggling behind faculty grading papers, the building was, for the most part empty.

Which was why no one was around to stop the two boys currently running for their lives, chased by a trio of angry classmates.

The sounds of their sneakers squeaking against the polished marble floors echoed throughout the empty school halls as they ran. Not a single person was in sight, leaving their path clear and their mad dash unhindered.

And given the fact that they were currently screaming for their lives as they ran, it was definitely a good thing.

Actually, one was screaming. The other was laughing like a madman, taunting their pursuers.

Hearts pounding in their chests, they rounded another corner, eyes darting quickly for an escape route. Hearing thundering footsteps behind them, the two ducked into the first open door they could find before slamming it shut and ducking down away from the window.

The minutes passed as they waited, hearing the footsteps coming closer and closer. Breaths held, they pressed themselves against the walls on either side of the door as the footsteps came to a stop outside. They could hear a trio of angry muffled voices arguing outside as they ducked further down. One of the boys looked over to his friend, who in turn made a quick cutting motion across his neck before bringing a finger to his lips. Nodding, the two remained silent as they waited.

Finally, after what seemed like hours- but was actually only a few minutes- they heard the voices, and the footsteps, fade away further down the hall before vanishing altogether. Looking at each other, the two let out the breath they had been holding while shakily laughing.

"Manny, have I ever told you our friendship is hazardous to my health?"

"Including now? Lemme get a calculator and I'll get back to you." Manuel "Manny" Rizal tried to suppress a chuckle as he panted lightly, but ultimately failed, his laughter only earning a sigh of resignation from his companion. He was long used to these kinds of afterschool runs and, in spite of the clear and obvious danger they presented, the tanned skin 8th grader couldn't help but enjoy it immensely.

His best friend Maxie had an entirely different opinion, if the frown on the dark skinned preteen's face was any indication. Not to say that Manny didn't understand why his friend wasn't amused; the constant state of unamusement was normal for the bucket hatted moral compass he hung with.

"Aw...not the Maxie Stare."

It just happened to be one of three looks that ever made him feel the slightest bit of guilt or apprehension.

"...Okay fine. Maybe I could have handled things less….Manny-ish."

"No, really? Ya think?" Maxie removed his green-tinted glasses for a moment to wipe them down before replacing them, grumbling under his breath. A moment of silence passed as the two friends caught their breath before Maxie finally glanced out the corner of his eye.

"...You know...you didn't have to jump in like that…"

 _'Here we go….'_ "Dude, look who you're asking." Manny reached over to clap Maxie on the shoulder with a grin, green eyes shining with amusement. Maxie almost stumbled under his energetic friend's smack before reaching up to adjust his grey bucket cap while Manny continued to grin. "Any chance to make Vince and his Goon Crew look like total goobers is a chance I'm not passing up! Besides, he had it coming, the jerk."

Hearing Maxie let out a sigh, Manny couldn't help but frown inwardly before patting the chubbier boy's back. The two had been friends for years….yet despite that Manny still could not get used to how it seemed his bucket hatted friend could never see things on the bright side. Giving him a grin, he stood up and dusted himself off before extending a hand to Maxie. "C'mon dude, let's get out before any lingering teachers decide to check out what all the noise was."

Maxie nodded in silence as he stood up and brushed off his large black hoodie, grimacing at the paint splattered across the green alien logo on the center. Manny himself was completely unbothered by the copious amounts of white splattered paint adorning his green football jersey and cargo shorts, as well as his face. If anything, the proof of his handiwork only served to leave the boy in much higher spirits, especially given the results.

Even if Maxie were annoyed, Manny knew deep down his best friend was more than grateful that Manny had stepped in when he did, otherwise things could've gone worse. It wasn't like Manny would just sit back and allow his friend to be messed with like that, not while he was around….

Besides, that wall needed a new shade of paint anyway.

Just wished the lights hadn't gone out when they did or he could've seen the rest of his handiwork.

"I still think you went a bit overboard with the giant slingshot…"

"There is NO overboard with me. If I'm gonna do something, I'm going all the way with it."

"And that is why the teachers banned us from taking art class."

"I'm still pretty sure they can't legally do that."

The two shared a look before chuckling as they kept walking. During this hour on a Friday, the only people who would be on schoolgrounds would be the few afterschool clubs finishing their meetings, so not only were they mostly safe from inquisitive teachers who would make their predicament worse, but the hallways were completely clear for the two to run from their pursuers. Manny growl inwardly at the memory of what caused their impromptu chase.

Being Maxie's best friend, Manny would be the first to note that amongst 8th graders, the bucket hat wearing preteen was noticeably short. Combine that with his chubby frame, habit of wearing heavy baggy clothing, and his constant wallflower-esque demeanor, and he was prime meat hanging on a hook for bullies like Vince Worth and his gang.

Manny himself was a bit on the short side, but his attitude and penchant for pranks made him equal parts loved and feared by the student body. In fact, despite all appearances, their general friend group was notoriously known and generally liked for their charisma and penchant for shenanigans.

Yet it seemed Maxie was the one who always got the negative attention. Especially from that rich jerk Vince Worth and his gang.

There were few things Manny actually disliked. Someone messing with one of his friends was top of that list. So when he had seen Maxie once again cornered by the bathroom by the school's worst trio of rich bullies, Manny decided to get a bit….creative...with the paint buckets he found by the nearby janitor's closet.

The nice afterschool run was a pleasant after effect.

"Lemme put it this way dude. Your mom kept complaining about you getting more exercise right? We can pass off the running as helping you shave a couple ounces!"

"Yeah, and having my face ripped off can help shave a bunch more." The flat look and tone that Maxie leveled at him caused Manny to laugh a bit louder. The two continued their walk through the empty hallways in relative silence, Manny with his hands behind his head and humming while Maxie had his hands in his pockets and a slouch in his step. As they walked, they slowed down their stride to take in the empty halls of their school. Walking past each classroom, the two would occasionally pause to just look inside at the empty desks, memories of having sit there filling their minds as light filtered through the windows on the desks.

Posted on the walls of the halls, they would find their eyes drawn to the large posters, with the words "CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF XX!" or "HAVE A GREAT SUMMER BREAK!"

"...Hey Max, do you think-"

 _Taktaktaktaktak_

The two slowed to a stop, hearing the tapping sound coming in muffled from somewhere nearby. Looking to each other, the two shrugged, with nothing better to do, and followed the noise. They did not have to travel far before coming upon an open room, light and voices coming from inside.

"-try putting it there?"

"That would clash with the line over here, and just lock me up."

"Hm…"

Walking in, Manny and Maxie found themselves in the third floor Computer Lab, all of the computers in the room unused save for one at the far back left corner. Walking over, there was a simultaneous widening of the eyes and slight groan of irritation coming from both Maxie and Manny respectively at the sight.

"Great, the Oompa Loompa and Draculette…Let's go Max, before they-"

"Sashi? A-Adel? What are you two doing?" Maxie asked, walking over, completely missing the facepalm Manny performed, an act that would usually be done by the former.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, the light of the computer screen shining off of his lenses, was a young boy, younger by a few years in appearance, one hand moving swiftly across the keyboard on the computer and another on the keyboard of the laptop he had open next to it. Olive skinned with a neatly cut brown bowlcut, he was the most formally dressed of the group, wearing a beige sweater vest over a white shirt and red tie, with brown slacks. Tipping his glasses, he regarded the two with an irritated look.

"Minding my own business is what I'm doing." As he said this, he quickly closed down the windows he was using on both screens, something Maxie caught but chose not to bring up. Instead, his focus was on the person beside the bespectacled boy.

"Sashi, don't be rude." came the sharp reprimand to his left. If Sashi were the most formal of the group, then Adelaide, or Adel as she were called, was the most eye-catching. A pale girl with unblemished skin, sharp indigo eyes, and waist length, slightly wavy black hair, she wore a black dress with a layered hem, white frills poking out underneath and a spiderweb design going around it. She wore a black bow around her collar, and a silver cross hung from her neck. She let out a small smile towards Maxie and Manny as she reached into her bag to pull out a spool of thread to sew into the doll she was working on.

Sashi clicked his tongue, obviously wanting to say more again, only to pause at the look Adel gave him. Grunting, he shook his head and focused back upon his work. "Whatever."

Sighing at Sashi's attitude, Adel turned to regard Manny and Maxie, her gaze lingering on Maxie for a moment, something that made Manny move a bit closer as to be between them, shooting a look to her as he did. This in turn caused Adel to sigh before she looked back to the doll she had been working on. "For your information, Maxwell, Sashi had something he wanted to finish when the computer lab was empty. I take it the reason you two missed the late bus was something Vincent related?"

"A-ah, yeah…it was a….thing." Maxie said, suddenly finding his sleeves alot more interesting to play with. He was so engrossed in keeping his eyes down and not meeting Adel's gaze that he missed the previous exchange between her and Manny, a nervous smile on his face. Adel noticed and seemed to have a smile herself, but chose to likewise keep her eyes firmly on her work. However, within the span of that minute of silence, the two would steal glances at each other, with Adel reaching up to adjust the cartoony skull hairpin she wore. It was enough to make both Manny and Sashi simultaneously roll their eyes in annoyance.

"What're you doin? Crackin the code? Summoning up ghosts?" Manny finally asked, having had enough of the silence. The flippant scoff he received from Sashi only served to make the headband wearing preteen clench a fist.

There it was. The thing that made Manny actually dislike this kid on some level.

"Manny…" Glancing over and catching the worried look Maxie sent him, Manny sighed before taking a deep breath. Then, he was all smiles again, hands behind his head as he turned around. "Whatever dude, me and Max got better things to do! Come on."

Offering a quick apology and well wishes for the weekend, Maxie quickly moved to follow Manny outside, only pausing to quickly glance back. The moment his eyes met Adel's, the two smiled at each other before Maxie ran out.

"Manny, WAIT UP!"

As he left, he didn't notice the lights in the room begin to flicker a bit.

 **100101010011001001**

"Seriously! Just because he's some sort of child genius doesn't give him a free pass to be so….so…."

"Condescending? Smug?"

"YEAH! I was just tryin to make conversation...the jerk…" Maxie let out a small hum at Manny's words, reaching over to pat his friend's back. This in turned helped Manny to calm down slightly as he plopped onto his back, staring at the setting sun. The two had immediately made a beeline from the Computer Lab to the roof of the school, their usual hangout. There Manny had spent the last few minutes ranting yet again with Maxie nodding along.

"I just….I don't get why he dislikes us so much? We haven't done anything to that kid!"

"We aren't exactly the most well liked people in school….or the town as a whole." Maxie said, likewise lying back as the two stared up at the amber-blue sky. "We are kinda annoying at times."

Manny opened his mouth, only to pause and hum in agreement.

"Fair enough…..But still...have we done anything specifically to him that makes him so hostile? He's not like that with Niko and Jayse….so why you and me specifically?" Maxie turned to look at Manny with a raised eyebrow, tilting down his glasses to give a view of his brown eyes.

"You're usually not so...bothered by someone not liking you. You doing okay?"

Manny let out a sigh as he continued to stare up at the sky, watching the clouds slowly move past overhead. "It's just….we're graduating in a week."

"From 8th grade."

"Yeah dude! And going into highschool! Don't you know what that means?"

"That we're leaving behind the awkward years of prepubescent innocence and moving into the even more awkward years of puberty driven emotional instability?" Manny stared long and hard at Maxie who maintained a neutral face.

"...No...freakin downer….I mean….it's a new start! A blank state!" Manny, feeling a surge of electric energy return to his body, leapt to his feet and stretched his arms upward, as if trying to reach for the sky. A wide grin began to form on his face as he stared upwards. "Dude, this our chance to start over from square one! Eliminate all grudges! Move past our mistakes of old! Life is a series of random events spliced together and highschool is a collection of some of the most random events one could experience!"

Manny turned to his best friend, grin wider than before.

"It's an adventure, Max! The biggest adventure we're about to embark on! How can you not be excited about this?!"

Maxie regarded Manny with a blank stare, one that eventually blossomed into a small smile, one that got Manny to grin even wider. "I'm excited. I just temper my excitement with equal amounts of cynicism and skepticism towards entering the next grade."

"Y'know, if you showed alot more of THIS Maxie to other people, you probably wouldn't be labelled as a nerd," Manny stated as Maxie got up to stand beside him, the two looking out at the town stretched out before them.

"Maybe…" Hearing the hesitation in Maxie's voice, Manny sighed before patting his friend on the back, still grinning. Looking out at the town stretched out before them down below, Manny couldn't help but tap his feet excitedly. Like he said, highschool was an all new adventure, for both him, Maxie, Niko, and Jayse.

And if there was one thing Manny loved, it was adventure.

"You know….We gotta do something big this summer. To commemorate this occasion. No longer will we be simple preteens! We shall enter into teenagerdom with a BANG!" he exclaimed, waving his arms for emphasis. Manny didn't need to turn to see the amused grin Maxie had on his face, he already knew it would be there.

"You say that EVERY summer dude. What is there to do around here that we haven't already?" was Maxie's response, earning a knowing chuckle from Manny as he turned to regard his friend.

"We can head on a road trip! You, me, Niko, Jayse...it'll be a blast!"

"Manny, we're 13. We can't drive. And I doubt any of our folks would wanna have to deal all 4 of us together in a cramped RV for an entire trip."

"Then we'll go on our own!"

"Once again….13," drawled Maxie, as Manny pouted in response. As the two continued to stare out at the setting sun, the occasional sounds of grumbling coming from the bandanna wearer beside him, Maxie sighed before finally regarding him. "Okay….WHY are you so deadset on this? I mean...I KNOW why, what with the adventure thing….but why?"

Manny went silent, before sighing tiredly, the most tired Maxie had ever seen him in all the years they knew each other.

"I just….wanna get out of this town for once...y'know? I mean really leave and see something beyond the three same towns around us. I wanna….see something new. Something big!"

"Manny…" Maxie began, only to be cut off immediately when Manny turned to him, an odd look, especially for Manny, on his face.

"I told you about that weird dream I've been having right?"

"I...yeah...the one with the field and all that….right…" Maxie nodded, earning a hum from Manny as he turned once again to the sky.

"Greenville is nice….quiet, peaceful for the most part, and generally a great place to live….but that's not me man. I need something more!" He turned to Maxie and grabbed the bespectacled boy's shoulders so suddenly that he yelped. He had to lean back as Manny's eyes bore into his own, the green in them shimmering with equal parts yearning, excitement, and anxiety. "Maxie…that field in my dream? I have never seen a sight like that before….those blue skies? The rolling plains? The rock formations all over the place? It was….the view was amazing to me….it was...it made me feel alive just looking at it!"

Manny wasn't sure why he felt so energized whenever he brought up his dream. He didn't even know what the dream meant.

All he knew was that they had started all of a week ago, and they always ended on the same note, cut off before he could figure out who he was reaching for. And that only served to increase the excited yearning he would feel.

The desire to see that place again.

To explore it, and see what was beyond the beyond it presented.

To see the face of the one he felt so connected to….

"Maxie...I wanna go on an adventure that surpasses all adventures! Because I can, and there is nothing that can stop me from doing so!"

And that was when the window below them exploded outward in a flash of bright, blinding light.

To be fair, as Manny would later claim, anyone would be at the very least surprised by the sudden explosion. Plus, with his hands already gripping Maxie's shoulders, it would be understandable that something would befall the bespectacled boy just by being in such close proximity to his hands.

The look on Maxie's face when he was bodily flung into the air by Manny, landing on his back with a resounding smack, quickly told the bandanna wearer that such an excuse would fly about as well as a block of cement.

Or about as well as Maxie did when he was flung.

 _'Yeeeeah….I'm not hearing the end of this…'_ Were Manny's last words before the green light of the explosion shot right into him.

 **1010010100101100101**

"Madre de dios, my aching-...what the hell was that?" Manny groaned out, as he sat up, vision still swimming from the blinding light that struck. Sitting up, he winced as he felt his head swim. Squashing the unsettling feeling aside, Manny took a moment to let his vision return as he patted himself down.

 _'All good...great. Now what about-'_ Before he could finish that thought, Manny noticed something lying beside him on the ground. Reaching over, he was surprised to pick up a palm-sized, almost shaped like a wedge. It was flat and smooth, with a gray coloration to it that seemed to reflect a bit of the light off of its surface. In the center of the stone was a small circular mirror inlaid within, and going through the stone as a whole from the mirror were odd green colored moment he touched it, he could feel an odd warmth coming from within. "What's this?"

"Ow…" Hearing the groan to his right, Manny turned to see Maxie slowly picking himself up from the ground, rubbing his back, his bucket hat off to the side.

"You good man?"

"Aside from the possibility of a cracked spine, yeah. Now onto more pressing matters….like what the hell that explosion was!" Grabbing his hat and securing it on his head, Maxie was all worry and panic as he rushed to Manny to help him up.

"Are YOU okay?! What was that light? The explosion?!" Manny winced slightly at how quickly Maxie became panicked and held up his hands to ward him off, repeating over and over that he was fine. However, in doing so, he gave Maxie full view of the stone in his hand, something that caused the boy to pause.

"Manny...what's that?" Manny blinked before glancing at the warm stone in his hand, mind blanking for a moment before he shook it.

 _"Weird...it's like it's….pulsing or somethin…'_

"Huh? Oh yeah uh….I...think this might've been...the light?" As Manny slowly explained, hearing those words come out of his mouth only served to make him realize how surreal and strange that was. The uncertain look on Maxie's face only served to confirm this as Manny looked down at the stone once more.

It was weird….the longer he looked at the stone, the more he felt some sort of...connection to it….like he was meant to have it….

"M-Manny…." Snapped out of his thoughts, Manny turned to see that Maxie had now gone to the edge of the roof and was looking over it. Heading over to him, Manny looked over as well, only to see the glittering shards of glass down below. That, coupled with the odd lights coming from one of the windows below told Manny all he needed to know.

"It must've come from that room….that would explain the exploding glass we heard…." Manny mused, earning a worried nod from Maxie. Manny had to think for a moment: this side of the school was the north-facing entrance, and the light looks to becoming from two floors below, possibly the third. His eyes widened in realization. A quick glance showed him that Maxie had come to the same conclusion.

"The third floor Computer Lab! Addie and Sashi!" Breaking away from the ledge, Maxie and Manny rushed towards the rooftop entrance, only for Manny to stop when he noticed a pile of rope, most likely left over from some workers fixing the ventilation, lying nearby.

He grinned as an idea came to mind.

"We should get to the stairs now so we can-Manny what the hell are you doing?" Maxie demanded flatly, turning around in time to see that Manny had picked up the rope and tied one end securely around one of the roof's ventilation turbines. He looked up at Maxie and blinked owlishly, holding onto the other end. "Well….I was gonna swing down into the room."

"Manny….why?"

"The stairs are too slow."

"No. No they are not! It'll literally take us all of two minutes to get there!" Manny winced and sighed inwardly at Maxie's outburst. There went Maxie again, trying to squash on another genius idea.

"Look man….going down the stairs would be too boring! We could make a dramatic entrance doing this!" The twitch in Maxie's eye told Manny that he didn't agree in any sense with that claim, causing Manny to gulp. "Well….it worked in _Gut Puncher IV."_

"NO! NO IT DID NOT! THE ROPE SNAPPED AND HE FELL TO HIS DEATH!"

Ah. There was that. Maxie certainly brought up a good point that Manny had forgotten.

But then again…..

"Manny? Manny! MANNY!" Ignoring Maxie's frantic cries, Manny tightened his grip on the rope before taking a running start, leaping off the edge of the roof, and falling down below. With a whoop of excitement, Manny saw the ground approaching fast, only for the rope to suddenly go taught once he was level with the third floor's windows, in particular, the one completely shattered. Laughing maniacally, Manny swung, Tarzan-style, into the opening of the window while a gob-smacked Maxie watched from above.

"YIPPEE KYE YAY!"

"MON DIEU!"

"WHAT THE FU-"

CRASH!

"..." Staring wide-eyed at what he witnessed, Maxie was barely aware of the surprised screams and crashes that resulted from Manny's daringly idiotic act. Removing his glasses to rub his eyes and make sure that, no, this wasn't some sort of twisted dream, Maxie eventually relented and brought his palm to his face.

"Of course it would work...it's Manny….it's always Manny….why would the laws of physics work now? They never do with him….of course he could do this…."

Maxie stood there, grumbling to himself as he looked at the rope now dangling freely over the edge and then at the door. Looking back over the edge of the roof, he pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling loudly through it before he flung his arms akimbo, heading for the stairs like a sane person.

"Awww here it goes…."

 **00100101100011101001**

When Manny went swung himself into the Computer Lab, he couldn't help but briefly wonder if maybe he was a bit too hasty in his choice of dramatic entrance. Like Maxie had said, in _Gut Puncher IV,_ the main character's best friend, who tried the same trick, had the rope snap before falling to his death. By all rights, Manny should not have succeeded like he did.

However, that brief feeling vanished the moment he saw the shocked expressions gracing both Sashi and Adel's faces as he soared over them, replaced immediately by an odd sense of satisfaction.

Said satisfaction turned into horror when, upon landing on the ground in a slide, Manny found himself crashing into chalkboard at the front of the room, face first. Feeling the crunch of his nose against the hard, black surface, Manny saw stars. Slowly sliding to the ground, he fell flat on his back, staring up at the twinkling lights dancing before his eyes.

"...Ow." Sitting up and shaking his head clear of the stars and lights, Manny blinked before turning around to grin at Sashi and Adel, immediately jumping to his feet in what he hoped was a heroic manner.

"Never fear, for the great Manuel is here!" Even though he expected the silence at the announcement, Manny still felt a bead of sweat form on his face. Regarding the blank stares that Adel and Sashi shot him, Manny slowly lowered his arms before chuckling. "Okay, tough crowd...gotcha."

Finally, Sashi was the one to break out of his stupor, shaking his head rapidly before fixing Manny with an incredulous stare. "Did you really just come swinging in through the window?! What is WRONG with you?!"

"HEY! Excuse me for hearing a scream and explosion, thinking something was wrong, and coming in to try and save your ungrateful butt!"

"Oh, yeah, you'd be a great help splattered all over the pavement down below!" As Sashi and Manny glared at each other, Adel sighed, rubbing her temples before getting up and placing her hands on Sashi's shoulders.

"Okay, both of you, zut!" she demanded, causing both boys to go silent and look at her. The cold stare she gave was enough to make any comment die a horrible death in their throats. Clearing her own throat, the goth addressed the two with significantly more calm than displayed earlier.

"While what Manuel did was extremely moronic and dangerous…..he still came to help after the explosion, so keep calm Sashi." Manny watched with a slight smirk as Sashi grumbled in irritation before twitching at the "moronic" comment. Before he could reply though, Adel continued. "And Manuel, that was very dangerous. You could have easily harmed yourself or worse. Take your own health into consideration as well when thinking of others. Oui?"

"...I really hate it when you talk like that, Draculette," was Manny's oh-so-eloquent response, something Sashi immediately lashed at.

"Hey! Don't you talk to her like that you-" Sashi stopped short when he caught sight of something on the floor. As he got up and began walking towards it, Manny followed his line of sight and saw his green stone lying on the ground, having fallen out of his pocket. Quickly picking it up Manny turned to Sashi, only to catch the gaze in his eyes.

The look of shocked realization really seemed to unnerve him for a moment. However, that moment was pushed aside when he saw Sashi hold up his own hand to show the object inside.

Manny saw his own reflection in the mirror of a stone exactly like his, only with yellow lining in place of green.

"I….huh? You have one of these too?" he questioned, eyes wide.

"I should be asking you the same thing…..then that green light…"

"Hit me while I was on the roof with Maxie….that explosion, what was that?" Manny asked, his mind whirring at the implications. There was a large explosion in this room. Whatever that explosion was destroyed all the lights, going by the shattered lightbulbs above. At the same time, it seemed that the explosion somehow made two weird stones that fell in the hands of Sashi and himself.

"That is what we are trying to figure out," Adel suddenly cut in, walking over to the two. Much to Manny's surprise, she too was holding a weird stone, hers white. The three held out their stones to each other, marvelling over the similarities. "Sashi was working when all the computers in the room started freaking out."

"Next thing we know, three lights shot out of the computer, two hit Adel and myself while the third shot out the window." Sashi added, much calmer than before as he focused on the similar designs the stones held. "Guess this explains where the third one went."

"Wait….you said they came from the computer? How does that make sense?" Manny asked in disbelief. There were somethings he was willing to believe, but this was a bit too odd for him. "Sounds like some lame sci-fi plot….not that I'm complaining….free rocks and all."

"And yet here is the proof, literally right in the palm of our hands." Adel stated, though the unsure frown on her face was evident, likewise mirrored by Sashi and Manny.

"...You said the computers and lights were acting up when it happened right?" Manny finally asked, a weird pit forming in his stomach. For some reason, he was rightfully nervous about the strange situation they were in, but at the same time, he felt this weird….excitement at the prospect. Receiving two nods in response, Manny's expression turned grim. "That's been happening all over the school today…..you don't think…?"

He let the answer hang in the air as the three glanced at each other before back at the rocks. It couldn't be that could it? Already there was an uncomfortable silence at the dawning realization that the items they held might be the cause. However, that silence was suddenly interrupted by Maxie suddenly sliding to a stop outside the classroom door and swinging it open, panting.

"GuysareyouallokayIsawtheexplosionandthenMannyjumpedandIwasworried!"

"Max, breathe dude, breathe. Everyone's fine." Manny said, switching to his usual grin automatically as to calm his panicking friend down. Maxie took a few deep breaths before his panting ceased. Wiping away the sweat from his brow, he walked into the room, looking around as he gingerly stepped over the broken glass from the lights. "What….happened in here?"

Manny glanced over to Sashi and Adel and made a quick cutting motion across his neck, signaling them to not bring up the revelation yet. Walking over to Maxie, he clapped his hands on his shoulder to grab his attention.

"Eh, you know….the Matrix shooting out magic rocks at people from cyberspace….that kinda comic book stuff." Confused and bewildered, Maxie looked past Manny to see Sashi and Adel hold up their stones. Looking at Manny's own stone, Maxie blinked before backing away to regain his composure.

"I….what? How? Why?" Manny slung an arm around Maxie's shoulders, a carefree smile in place as he pulled him over to the others. "I have no idea man...honestly, we're all as confused as you are."

Bringing Maxie over to the others, Manny stepped aside to let Sashi explain what he had before about the computer suddenly shooting out the stones at them. Occasionally, theories would be thrown left and right, mostly ranging on the side of sci-fi related plots, from aliens to government conspiracies, all of which caused an angry tick to form on Sashi's forehead. However, amidst it all, Manny was the one to notice something odd.

His stone was getting warmer.

And then the ear splitting screech sounded.

"AGH! WHAT IS THAT?!" Manny cried out, holding his hands over his ears, an action mimicked by Sashi and Adel as they fell to their knees in pain. He had no idea what was going on, but out of nowhere, this loud, screeching, head splitting sound reached his ears. It was unlike anything he had ever heard before, and most definitely not in the good way.

"Mon Dieu! This noise...it's….it's horrible!" Adel had to scream, but even then it was hard for Manny to hear her over the screeching noise. It felt like it was reverberating throughout his entire body, splitting it in all directions all at once.

"Where is it coming from?! Someone turn it off!"

"G-guys?! What's wrong with all of you?!" came Maxie's frantic questioning right beside him. Cracking an eye open through all the unbearable pain, Manny could see that Maxie seemed to be the only one unaffected in the slightest by the noise, instead looking confused and frightened by everyone's sudden shouting act. Manny tried to reach for Maxie, only to find the pain was too much for him to even try, falling to ground in fetal position as he kept rolling around in pain. As he did, he could feel the ground suddenly shaking, objects falling and breaking around them.

To make matters worse, the stone that was still in his hand seemed glued to his palm, burning white hot in the center and sending that heat all throughout his body. His heart rate was increasing, his skin felt like it was bubbling up, and each time he tried to open his eyes, he was assaulted by a myriad of colors. It was the worst kind of feeling he could ever imagine, and it only seemed to get worse, being shared by Adel and Sashi alike.

"M-Manny, talk to me! TALK TO ME!" He could feel Maxie's hands on him, trying to shake him and sit him up, but he couldn't stop spasming from the pain, the screeching only getting worse by the second. It felt like at any moment, his head could split in half.

' _Make it stop….MAKE IT STOP!'_

And then, as if to answer his plea, the noise and pain stopped.

For a moment, he could feel nothing, the heat within his body now replaced with a clammy coldness. Sashi and Adel were silent beside him, meaning that it must've stopped for them as well, however he wouldn't know. Cracking an eye open, Manny slowly and dazedly patted himself, to make sure he was still all there. Satisfied somewhat, Manny slowly sat himself up, body shaking and caked in sweat. A quick glance told him that Sashi and Adel were doing the same, both having been left shaken by what occurred.

"Everyone alright?" he asked, earning shaky nods from the two. Noting Maxie's silence, he turned to regard his friend, only to note that Maxie's mouth hung open, eyes wide behind his glasses as he stared ahead at something.

"What the-...what...is that?" Hearing the shaky question, Manny dizzily turned his head to follow Maxie's wide-eyed gaze, noting Sashi and Adel both doing the same, only for his eyes to widen.

"What the hell?"

Outside the windows, the sky had turned pitch black, as if night had already fallen. While normally that would not be such a strange thing given the sun was setting last he checked, this was very different.

The fact the clouds were purple and swirling around only served to solidify that.

"Guys….we...we should probably start calling our parents and some teachers now." Maxie said. Manny nodded in agreement only to freeze, a sudden realization overtaking him.

"Wait...where ARE the teachers?" Seeing the confused expressions he recieved Manny continued. "Look...I know usually at this school, crazy things are a constant. But seriously….the moment things started exploding and I pulled my whole Tarzan routine, someone should've come in here by now to see what was going on. Hell, if not because of that...shouldn't the night crew already be coming in right about now to start cleaning the halls?"

Everyone went silent, their own eyes widening at the implication before turning to Maxie, the last to enter the room. At the shake of his head, everyone felt a pit form in their stomachs as they all looked at one another, the same thought going through their minds.

No one had come to check the noise. It was like no one was in the building at all….something was very wrong here.

Very, VERY wrong.

"I-I-I'm gonna go see if I can find a teacher. Mrs. Kipling should still be downstairs in room 2B, right?" Maxie shakily asked, and Manny could tell it was more to assure himself than anything else. Slowly Maxie stood up and stumbled to the door and pulled, only to frown and pull again. However, the door would not budge.

' _Oh no…'_

Maxie began to mutter something worriedly as he kept pulling harder on the doorknob, only to begin sweating at the resistance he recieved. Soon, that frustration turned to fear as he began banging on the door.

"T-the door's not opening! SOMEONE GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"Okay, this isn't funny anymore." Turning to Sashi, Manny saw the usually irritated 10-year-old now sweating. His calm demeanor was cracking, his expression clearly unnerved by all this as he turned to glare at Manny, an accusatory finger pointed. "Th-this is some prank of yours isn't it?"

Manny had to stare, wide-eyed and gobsmacked at the accusation. Of all the things, that was what Sashi chose to do? Accuse HIM?! His pranks were funny. This….this was NOT funny!

 _'Really?!'_ "Are you seriously accusing ME?! Why do you think it's me?!"

"Because it's ALWAYS you! You and your annoying little shadow over there! Whenever there's something going on in this school, it's because of YOU!" Manny could understand a bit that Sashi was scared- he was as well. He could also understand why Sashi would probably blame him; usually he WAS at the center of most mishaps in school.

But then he called Maxie an "annoying little shadow". Not even the unnerved Adel trying to placate them could make him feel any less angry.

"Okay, listen here you little bra-aaaahhhh…" Trailing off, Manny's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open. Given what was going on behind Sashi, his gobsmacked expression was understandable. As such, he shakily pointed at the phenomenon, catching the other's attention.

Rising up from the computer in the back that Sashi was using was a giant mass of ones and zeroes connected together. The large mass seemed to wiggle and thrash about the higher it rose, until finally, it seemed to touch the ceiling.

 _'What….what is that?'_ It was a rare moment to ever see Manny so frozen by something, he was actually unable to form the physical words to match his thoughts. Instead, all he could do was stare at the….could he even call it a creature?...that stood/hovered/whatever in front of him. He was only barely aware of Sashi mirroring his expression, while Adel had a look of curiosity on her face, her hand shaking slightly. In his hand, Manny could also feel the stone from before once again burning hot, as if screaming out against the phenomenon before him.

For a moment, all was silent.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!"

Much to everyone's growing horror, as if in response to Maxie's sudden yell, the mass of binary code "turned" around to face them, the rest of its "body" still protruding from the computer. Manny held his breath, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face. His eyes narrowed at the mass of code as it "watched" the group.

Then, without warning, it struck, lunging at the three stone-holders.

"GUYS!"

"DUCK!" Manny cried out, grabbing both Sashi and Adel and diving to the side, dragging them down with him. He winced as he felt the mass of ones and zeroes pass right over them, crashing into the ground with a loud, static-filled screech. He turned his head to see the mass's base still connected to the computer while its "head" splayed across the ground, vaguely hand-shaped.

"Ugh….ma tete…." Hearing the groans beneath him, Manny moved over to allow Sashi and Adel to sit up, the latter rubbing her head while the former adjusted his glasses. Suffice to say, both held equally panicked expressions on their faces.

"What is that...that...THING?!" Sashi demanded of no one, eyes wide at the binary monstrosity currently picking itself back up. Manny's mind was already a whirl of thought as he looked around rapidly for something that could help them escape. He inwardly cursed at the sight of the still locked door, Maxie pressed against it, still trying to get it open while keeping his fearful expression focused on the creature. Turning to look over at the windows at the far end of the room from where he swung in, he contemplated the possibility of jumping out. That idea was immediately squashed upon remembering they were on the third floor, above nothing but concrete.

' _Wait….the window to the door maybe?'_ Glancing over again at the door Maxie was trying to get open, he noted the window that took up a good portion of it. It looked big enough that maybe at least Adel or Sashi could climb out. It was just a matter of breaking it. Fortunately for him, there were plenty of chairs and blunt objects in this very room.

"Sashi, Adel, I got an idea. A stupid one, but an idea," Manny said, ignoring the brief look of disbelief Sashi shot his way before looking over at the computer the living code came from. "I'm gonna draw that thing's attention away, alright? You guys grab the hardest thing you can find, and try to smash the window in that door! One of us can climb out and get help!"

"Are you insane?! This isn't a movie, Rizal!" Sashi immediately snapped, only to yelp as the mass of ones and zeroes began to float off of the ground once more, now fully hand shaped. Manny grabbed Sashi's shoulder and shook it, a glare in place. "Just do it! NOW!"

Without warning, Manny got up and let out a battlecry, running towards the computer in the back. As if hearing his yell, the "hand" turned in his direction and lunged for him, something that made Manny grin.

' _Gotcha, numbnuts.'_ Ignoring the very clear danger this act presented, Manny ducked down into a slide, just as the "hand" passed over his head, strecthing out through the destroyed window in front of him. Coming to a stop at the wall beneath the window, Manny crawled to his feet, now at the computer that the "hand" was still connected to.

"What the…..," he muttered, eyes wide. Naturally, given the hand was connected to it, the computer in front of him was letting out sparks of electricity, with what was left visible of its screen shining a bright white. However, it was what he could see on the rest of the computers in the room that left him for a loop. Every single screen was likewise covered in a cage of electricity, with the screens glowing brightly, only unlike this one, he could catch glimpses of binary code scrolling down rapidly. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that the "hand" was doing something to all these computers. And yet it chose to come out of this one.

The one Sashi was using only a few minutes prior.

Hearing a crash and grunts of pain, Manny looked over the computer towards the door to see Sashi and Manny wringing their hands with Adel shaking her head, a chair overturned beside them. The door didn't even have a scratch on it.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to mull over it when he felt the air become static-y as the hand rushed past his face and towards them.

"GUYS!"

Without thinking, Manny reached for the object closest to him, feeling his fingers wrap around the metallic handle of what he found to be a black and white folded parasol- obviously belonging to Adel. Holding it up, he focused on the sharp metal point at the tip before looking at the screen of the computer in front of him.

"Here goes everything!" Without giving it a second thought, Manny stabbed the parasol as hard as he could into the computer screen.

The resulting flash of light and bright screeching noise told him he only made things worse.

This fact was only compounded when, instead of disrupting the "hand" like he had hoped, Manny's expression went flat when a second one came flying out of the computer screen he had stabbed. "REALLY?!"

Dodging out of the way of the second hand's lung, Manny ducked underneath the desk holding the row of computers and crawled out the other end, getting up in time to see the first hand smacking Maxie across the room.

"MAX/MAXWELL!" Before Manny could run to his friend, Adel's scream brought his attention back to her and Sashi. His eyes went wide when he saw the hand wrap itself around a frozen in fear Sashi and Adel, the two screaming as their bodies began to glow, fizzling in and out like static on a tv screen. Tightening his grip on the parasol, Manny ran after them, swinging at the hand with a yell, only for his eyes to go wider in shock, stumbling as the hand- along with its two captives- burst into pixels before returning into the computer.

Unfortunately that second of shock and hesitation allowed the second hand to close its binary fingers around Manny as well, as he felt himself become struck with a sudden lightheadedness. His vision burst into a myriad of colors as he felt a strange numbness filling his body.

What was this?

Why was this happening?

Was he gonna end up like Sashi and Adel?

Manny could not find the answer in the short time between his being captured and subsequent pixelation. All he was aware of in that moment, however, were only two other things.

One, the stone he was still somehow holding despite all this was letting out a bright green glow from the corner of his eye.

And two, Maxie was running right towards him, screaming something inaudible. He could no longer hear anything save for the screeching noise. He could feel nothing but the numbness in his body.

He didn't even have the energy to warn his friend to run.

Then, all was enveloped in a bright flash, the last thing he saw being Maxie jumping at the hand.

 **01001010010001100101**

Manny was prepared for a lot of things when his eyes readjusted to the light.

The...thing...currently holding him, Sashi, and Adel in its furry arm while at the same time using the other to try and swat off a surprisingly ferocious Maxie was not one of them.

"GAH! Get offa me ya rabid little pitbull!" Currently punching his best friend in the top of the head was an adult sized, orange furred...monkey?

Manny couldn't be sure, but either way, their captor did resemble a monkey, if only vaguely, with its large hand-like feet and lack of opposeable thumbs. It was, as previously stated, covered from head to toe in bright orange fur, save for the patch of white covering its midriff and stomach, its bare maw, and the white tipped orange tail whipping angrily around it. Around the arm currently holding him captive was a ring of stitches over the upper bicep while hanging from its hip was a weirdly adorable stuffed yellow bear.

"I said LET GO!" the "monkey" cried in equal parts pain and anger, brow furrowing under the opaque black shades it wore as Maxie, comically enough, bit down hard on its free hand. If the deep, male voice weren't enough, then the coiffed head fur and shades confirmed Manny's initial thoughts of the creature being a weird Elvis knockoff at a furry convention.

But that wasn't the most important thing on Manny's mind at the moment. Nor was the fact that the group were currently flying through a spiraling tunnel of ones and zeroes, a single small bright light disappearing in the distance from where they originally came.

No, Manny's focus was centered on his best friend, the same best friend who, instead of running to safety, decided to instead tackle the giant hand holding them captive, and proceed to attack the hand's owner once they were- really feels weird thinking it now- sucked into a computer. It wasn't to say that Manny didn't expect this, nor that he wasn't feeling a familiar warmth at his buddy not hesitating to jump in and try to save them.

No, it was more that all these feelings were being overridden by the crippling fear and worry he felt for said friend, who was currently sporting some visible bruises from the creature's attacks. And yet, the normally passive and peaceful other half to the Dynamic Duo had such a look of determination and fury, and would not let go of the arm currently wrapped around Manny, Adel, and Sashi.

Each punch made Manny wince as a familiar, and completely unwanted, memory began to spring up. A memory that caused him to growl in anger.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" With a yell, he began to wriggle and shake furiously against the monkey's hold, joined in part by Sashi and Adel, feeling a great deal of satisfaction as he felt the heel of his sandals connect with the monster's shin a few times. This, coupled with Sashi and Vi's own attempts at escape and Maxie's alternating between yanking on the arm holding them and biting at the other hand left the creature beyond annoyed.

"AGH! You little punks better cut this crap out NOW!" Tightening his grip around the three captives' necks, he finally managed to pry Maxie off and hold him away by the scruff of his hoodie, the monster's maw twisted into an angry snarl that revealed rows of sharp, menacing teeth. "Damn, the Big G better give me my own freakin record label after this! You little rugrats are NOT worth the effort!"

"Let them go, you fleabag!" Maxie cried out, swinging and kicking his legs out, only for a well placed kick to land squarely in the monkey monster's face with a resounding crack. Letting out a cry of pain, the monster flung his arm back, subsequently letting go of Maxie's hood.

Eyes widening at the sight of his best friend's shocked face as he was send flying through the tunnel, Manny suddenly bit down on the arm holding him, ignoring the taste of moldy cheese and fur as he sunk his teeth deeper.

"OW!" The shock of suddenly being bitten coupled with the already blinding pain from Maxie's kick caused the monster to release his hold on the three kids, his own eyes widening in delayed realization as he was sent tumbling away through the endless tunnel of data, screaming angrily. Both Adel and Sashi cried out as well, trying to reach each other but failing as they fell out of sight. However, Manny was more focused, at the moment, on reaching Maxie, kicking his arms and legs as hard as he could to "swim" towards him, throwing away the parasol to the void as he did.

"Maxie, hang on bro!" Time seemed to slow down as Manny stretched out his hand towards Maxie's own, stubborn determination pushing him to stretch outward more and more. His best friend was right within reach. He could do this! He could-

 _'Got...to….reach….HIM!'_

Manny's heart sunk when he swung at empty air, a horrid realization dawning on his face.

The look of utter panic and devastation on Maxie's face when their fingers missed one another by barely an inch was the last thing Manny saw as he found himself tumbling away, his best friend falling further into the binary void.

 _'NonononononononNO!'_

"M-MANNY!"

"MAXIEEEEEEEEE!"

All went a blinding white, before becoming a merciful black.

 **010010100010011001**

The light of sun filtered through the trees above him.A clear blue sky, fluffy clouds floating through the air met his eyes. Every few seconds, there would be a quick flash of light as something or another would travel along the circuit board pattern superimposed over it. A gentle breeze washed over him as he felt the soft grass beneath his back. It was...relaxing...

 _"MANNY!"_

Manny shot up with a gasp, eyes wide as his head darted around, only to wince and fall back onto the grass, a sudden dizziness overtaking him. He lay there for a bit, unmoving, as he attempted to get the world to stop spi-

Wait...grass?

Sitting up slowly this time, Manny felt around to confirm that yes, he was currently on a patch of grass instead of...whatever the hell that tunnel was. Upon actually looking around at his surroundings, Manny easily figured out just what was wrong.

"This is...Definitely not the Computer Lab..."

Instead of the dark walls of the brick walls of the computer filled classroom, surrounding the bandanna wearing pre-teen was a lush green forest, large leafy trees on all sides of him, with he himself having awoken within the center clearing. The smell of wildlife and the distant sounds of chirping birds confirmed to him that he was indeed outside instead of inside the school. Another cursory glance around likewise confirmed that he was alone, leaving Manny to think briefly as he tried to recollect his thou-

 _-Both Adel and Sashi cried out as well, trying to reach each other but failing as they fell out of sight._

"Shit, the others!" Jumping to his feet, stumbling from the sudden dizziness but shaking it off regardless. His head was still swimming and his thoughts still in a complete haze, memories in disarray as he slowly stepped forward. However, he was STILL aware that SOMETHING had happened.

"SASHI! ADELAIDE! GUYS?!" Calling out his fellow captives' names, Manny began to walk into the trees, pushing aside low hanging branches as he began looking around, all while trying to remember the last few minutes. He was in the classroom, the flash of light happened, then a hand...something about falling through a tunnel...

Something was holding him when Maxie...

Maxie...

Ma-

- _The look of utter panic and devastation on his best friend's face was the last thing he saw as he tumbled through the void._

Manny stopped mid shout, eyes wide, as all his memories came flooding back at once. They were kidnapped...taken by some weird monkey into the computer.

And then Maxie had jumped in after them...

"MAXIE! MAX!" Trying to squash that small foreign feeling of panic forming up inside, Manny began to walk a bit faster through the dense forest, yelling even louder as he alternated between names.

"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

As he continued pushing through the branches, Manny failed to notice a pair of eyes following after him, hidden behind a cluster of foliage.

 **010011010001001001**

"Guys….guys….come on….someone answer…."

After what felt like hours of searching, Manny was finding himself running out of steam and simultaneously growing annoyed. His throat was becoming sore, the sun was beating down a little too hard for his liking, and no matter how far he walked, all he saw were more and more trees.

He was all for forests, but there were too many trees. Not to mention the noises he was hearing from said trees were definitely not friendly. Finally breaking free into a small clearing, Manny found a tree stump to sit on, catching his breath.

The sun filtered through the opening in the trees to cast a light down on him. Looking around, Manny could see that aside from the bright green leafage on the trees around him, there were various oddly shaped, brightly colored flowers and plants littering the area. Occasionally, a flying shadow would pass over heard, the chirping definitely unlike any bird he had heard before. Looking around, he would occasionally spot a rustle in nearby brushes, shadows of odd creatures passing to and fro.

"Where am I?" he asked himself, looking around. This wasn't like any forest near Greenvile, that was for sure. If it wasn't the clearly strange shadows he could see in the distance, and the odd flora, then it was the fact that, whenever he took a closer look at a tree, he could see the circuit lines going through the bark. It was just like that weird sky.

It was…..weird….but, a good kind of weird.

 _'Ah...there it is…'_ Manny sighed inwardly. While he was definitely rightfully worried for both himself and especially the others, for some reason, the more he looked at this place, the more he felt an odd sense of familiarity.

It was like….he knew this place from somewhere…..like he was meant to be here.

It was oddly exciting for him.

Feeling a familiar warmth in his hand, Manny looked down to see the mirrored stone still held tightly in his hand. For brief moment he had to wonder HOW exactly it remained so tight in his grasp despite everything, but he was too drained to figure it out. Instead, he held it up to his face, looking at his reflection in its circular "screen". Now that he thought about it, the object felt oddly weightless in his hand. Despite clearly being a stone, its surface felt smooth, almost metallic.

"Why did you come to me? Where did you come from?" Manny stared at the stone, as if expecting it to suddenly speak to him in some ghostly voice or something. Maybe it would even project a hologram of some princess asking for help; he wasn't sure.

"Look at me….Maxie was right. It was only a matter of time before I started talking to rocks," letting out a wry chuckle at the thought, his mind once again wandering to the possible fate of his missing friend, Manny sighed.

If someone told him earlier this morning that he and Maxie would be chased all across the school, running for their lives, he would've stated he already knew. But if they had told him afterwards he would be sucked into a computer by a giant Matrix hand and dropped in some weird, circuit forest….

Well, he would've most likely said "Sweet, road trip!" or something along those lines, and laugh it off.

And here he was…..not laughing.

"Great…..I got my big adventure...but no one to share it with."

"Really stinks, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about it." Manny said with a chuckle. It really did stink. If he was gonna go on an adventure, he'd at least want his best mate coming along with him. Instead, here he was, alone and-

Manny suddenly sat straight, finally noticing that the sunlight from before was gone, and that a very deep, VERY gravelly voice asked him a question.

He slowly turned around before looking up.

And up.

And further up.

"...Coooooooooool."

"Not the phrase I was expecting, but thank you for the compliment," came the response of the giant tyrannosaurus currently casting a shadow over him.

At least...Manny HOPED it was a T-Rex. Because that would be SO COOL.

He- at least he assumed from the voice it was male- was covered entirely in rough bright red skin, with green stripes going across the arms and sides of his saurian head, with only his stomach a pale white. Green spikes trailed down from the top of his head, down his spine, and all the way along his tail. A black patch of skin adorned the top of his muzzle as piercing yellow eyes bore down on tiny Manuel.

The T-Rex leaned down, his humongous jaws inches away from Manny's face as the young boy stood up.

"Uh…..hi….Name's Manny!"

"Tyrannomon."

"Uhuh...so you ARE a T-Rex?"

"I have no idea what that is. Nor what you are. Are you a digimon?" Manny stood his grown as he felt the large nostrils of Tyrannomon sniff over him, causing him to let out a small giggle. It tickled his skin.

"I dunno what THAT is...but I'm human….why?" Manny felt a wave of hot air wash over him when Tyrannomon snorted, whipping his hair back and leaving it frizzy. He was beginning to not like the way those yellow eyes focused on him.

"You smell delicious."

"..."

"I'm hungry."

Welp.

"I see…..well then if that's the case the-KYAH! OW!"

In retrospect, pretending to turn around only to punch the massive T-Rex "Digimon" in the schnozz was a crappy idea. Especially given how much Manny's hand hurt after that.

"..." Tyrannomon's eyes narrowed and a smile formed on his face, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth.

Manny immediately wished Maxie was here. He would've told him not to punch the dinosaur.

But he wasn't.

And Tyrannomon was now hungry AND angry.

So naturally, it went without saying what Manny's only possible option was.

"SAND ATTACK!" Reaching down and scraping up dirt, Manny flung it into Tyrannomon's right eye, earning a roar of anger from the dino. Taking that moment as his cue, Manny turned tail and ran, screaming with his arms raised into the air, into the forest once more.

The roar of anger and the trees flying over his head told Manny Tyrannomon was not too far behind, ground shaking with every thunderous stomp.

"IF I WASN'T SO AFRAID OF BEING EATEN, THIS WOULD BE THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! THIS IS EQUAL PARTS AWESOME AND LIFE-THREATENINGLY FRIGHTENING!"

Ducking and twisting around each turn he can, Manny couldn't stop the jackhammering of his heart as he ran. With each tree he passed, he could catch glimpses of more strange creatures, ranging from pink bouncing blobs to even other little dinosaurs of different colors, an orange one in particular waving at him.

Heck, there was even a Dodo pecking at some fruit with a giant blue wolf, both of which looked in surprise as he ran past.

"Huh…..neat."

 **"BLAZE BLASTER!"** Manny barely had time to turn to the sound of the yell before he yelped and ducked down, a large gout of flame passing over head, setting the trees ablaze. Manny could only stare wide-eyed, mouth hanging open at the destruction before looking back at Tyrannomon.

"THAT….IS SO COOL! SCARY BUT COOL!" Recieving a roar in response, Manny turned and continued running, thanking the stars that all his time spent running from angry prank victims helped him keep ahead of the fire-breathing T-Rex.

However, that relief turned to bewilderment when he finally broke out of the forest, only to come skidding to a stop in front of a cliff. A cliff overlooking-

Manny would be lying if he didn't say his breath caught in his throat at the beautiful sight before him. Splayed out before the cliff's edge was a long, winding river of clear blue water, the sunlight sparkling off of it as it flowed. Across that river was the widest rolling plains the 13 year-old had ever seen outside of movies. Grass capped rocky plataeus, multicolored flower patches, and even more of those odd creatures were visible as tiny dots moving about. Manny's eyes sparkled at the sight before him.

 _'It's….so beautiful….'_

Here he was.

In….well….it just had to be a new world….

He was in a new world.

This was...an adventure….THE adventure.

"Pinch me I must be dreaming…."

"Oh I don't play with my food." Whipping his head around, Manny cursed when he saw Tyrannomon push past the trees and walk out onto the cliff, a toothy grin in place. Manny instinctively took a step back, only to grimace when he felt his heel hit the edge of the cliff.

"Nowhere to run 'Manny'." Seeing Tyrannomon step closer, Manny glanced down at the rushing waters below, briefly contemplating pulling an action move and jumping off the cliff. However, in spite of everything pointing to the contrary today, this WAS real life, and he was pretty sure a 13-year-old wouldn't be able to survive that sort of fall.

Just his luck.

Turning back to face the approaching Tyrannomon, Manny gulped as sweat formed on his face. There was nowhere for him to run, Tyrannomon was blocking the way back into the forest.

This...this was really it….

He just arrived in this world and he can't even enjoy it for a minute.

And what about the others? Sashi? Adel?

What about Maxie?

"Maxie…." At the memory of his friend's devestated face as they fell through the tunnel, Manny felt his hand clench around the stone in his hand.

Maxie was out there…..alone….and here he was, about to be eaten.

This was the adventure he wanted….one he could share with his best friend. One he SHOULD be sharing with his best friend.

But he was about to be eaten.

His journey on the road of life was about to hit a permanent roadblock.

Manny grit his teeth in frustration, the futility of his situation sinking in. When Tyrannomon opened his maw wide and lunged, Manny glared back at him, eyes defiant. If it was gonna end like this….he may as well face it down like a man.

And that was when the stone in his hand burst into green light, blinding both him and the attacking Tyrannomon.

 **"MINING CLAW!"**

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!"

When the light faded away and his vision returned, Manny was more than pleasantly surprised to find that, instead of being torn to pieces in Tyrannomon's mouth, he was still on the cliff edge, perfectly fine. Instead, it was Tyrannomon in pain, rearing back to clutch at the bleeding gashes going across his nose. When Manny laid his eyes on the cause behind the bleeding wound, his eyes widened.

"You…."

Standing before him was another bipedal, saurian creature, though this one was vastly different in size and appearance from Tyrannomon. No bigger than Manny, the monster was covered from head to toe in rigid, dirt brown scales, leading to two large, gleaming claws. Its feet were clad in red, open-toed boots, and a red bandanna hung around its neck. Adorning its head was a large, crystalline portrustion that vaguely resembled a hardhat, while smaller crystal spikes adorned the tail.

But most of all…..that creature felt familiar to him.

Slowly turning around to face Manny, the boy was greeted by the rounded maw of the creature, complete with underbite, a single small fang poking upwards. Its amber eyes were shimmering with excitement and longing as it stared at Manny. Then, it slowly opened its mouth to speak.

"Hello...Papa."

 **TO BE CONTINUED**


End file.
